Nashville's Crema Coffee business model is how we wish all businesses would operate.  In our interview with Rachel Lehman we find out that Crema was one of the first Zero Waste businesses in Nashville and how they keep innovating to reduce waste and make the coffee world a better place.  In addition to developing compostable coffee packaging, Crema implements costly innovations like electric delivery vehicles, reusable wholesale delivery crates and pays living wages for employees and growers.  

Would you sneak a plastic bag monster costume into your State's Legislature and wear it to meet with lawmakers?  This is just one of the interesting things we found out in this inspirational interview with Sadie and Zach, the organizers behind Zero Waste Chattanooga.  We discuss their Zero Waste journey and how they educate their community about environmental issues.  Sadie has a great take on "Remedy Messaging" as it relates to recycling.  She sites studies that show people are more prone to waste when they think there is a remedy like recycling. Listen in to find out if we should think about changing how we talk about environmental issues to better influence behavioral change.

With world wide Covid-19 deaths in the millions, political upheaval, social unrest and a tumultuous economy, continuing the conversation about sustainability sometimes feels like some kind of privileged guilty pleasure. Michael and Maris discuss the struggles of the past year and the importance of talking about sustainability in order to engage listeners and unify our environmental efforts to slow down the impending climate catastrophe.

Do you feel like you're the only one recycling, composting your food scraps and getting dirty looks from cashiers for bringing your own bags?  Finding and supporting your local environmental organizations can be a great way to stay connected and leverage your environmental actions. ZWTT is active locally with Tennessee Environmental Council. Join us as we chat with CEO Jeff Barrie about the 50 year history of TEC and what their plans are for the future.

Have you thought about sustainable gift giving?  How do you personalize a gift experience when sending an electronic gift card?  Why do we even give gifts? Maris and Michael have a conversation about how to approach gift giving as Zero Waste practitioners.

How do you "pull a Maris"?  Is there a waiter in East Nashville with a zero waste chopstick injury from Jess?  How does Michael offset air conditioning for furry Akitas?  Life is full of trade offs for what's good for us, the environment and our pocketbooks.  Zero Waste isn't just trying to fit all of your trash into a mason jar.  It's about conserving and reusing resources. The Trash Talk hosts share some of the things they do on a daily basis to lower consumption and produce less waste.

Hey Ladies! Did you know that tampons and pads that we have been told to use our whole lives are actually toxic to our bodies? Maybe this isn’t news to you, but really these foreign objects we’re putting into our bodies are NOT good for us! and they are just going to be thrown AWAY - which we all know by now that there is no away. For this episode we invited fellow Zero Waste Nashville group member Larissa Maestro to explore the opportunities for healthier more sustainable feminine hygiene options. Join Maris, Jess and Larissa as they get personal with their sustainable feminine hygiene experiences.

Karen McIntyre from Nashville's Westmead Elementary is much more than a librarian.  She's helped start a compost program, a school garden, recycling drives and a way for students to donate uneaten food from the lunchroom.  She shares her successes and the lessons learned along the way to making her school an example for the entire Nashville school system.  Karen is proof that one persons dedication can affect systemic change.  Find out how you can support what she's doing and/or get inspired to help your local school become more environmentally friendly.

There are a lot of items that sit in our closets, attics or basements that only get used a couple of times a year.  Do you know how many resources it took to produce, ship and sell all that stuff so that it can just sit around unused? Ruckify is a new peer-to-peer rental marketplace that makes it super easy to put unused items back into circulation AND make money in the process! THEY ALSO PLANT A FRICKEN TREE FOR EVERY TRANSACTION!  In episode 12, founder Steve Cody tells us how he started the company and how you can rent products locally instead of buying more crap that you might only use one time! (Receive 30 Ruckbucks towards your first rental with our promo code revealed when you listen)

In this episode, Michael talks about his experience with his new bidet and about how the process works down to the nitty gritty detail.  We also hear from a couple of listeners who gave us audio testimonials about why they love their bidets.

Save some fricken trees by using a bidet and/or toilet paper made from recycled or sustainable materials.  The average American uses 184 trees worth of toilet paper in their lifetime.  That's a forest about the size of three football fields.  Using trees that capture carbon and clean our air for toilet paper is a low value use that can easily be replaced by using bamboo, hemp or a bidet.

Bidet's have been slow to catch on in the United States but companies like HelloTushy.com are changing that with cheeky advertising and a well designed affordable product.  Tune-in to find out why you should tune-up your bathroom routine.